Chase Equestrian at Chase Meadow Lane

02/16/2025

02/14/2025

"Always clap for your friends, even if their dreams come true before yours." 💙

📸: Brittany Rapciak Photography

02/13/2025

02/13/2025

All any of us wanted when we were children was unconditional love from the people around us.

And, when that love failed to come our way sufficiently, many of us turned towards animals, sometimes needing to cling to the family pet for dear-life in order to survive and receive enough warmth and acceptance to keep us going.

Animals give us unconditional love and through always welcoming our presence they give us the vital acceptance and validation that, who we were, and still are now, matters and is enough.

The dog who raced to greet us every time we returned home. The cat who always chose our bed to cuddle and sleep. The pony or horse who was always there and always happy for us to nestle our face into their neck and mane, as we allowed our tears of sorrow to flow.

I’ve lost count of the number of people who’ve relayed such stories, myself included, with the oft-heard phrase being that, animals and especially horses or ponies, literally saved our lives.

I'm so thankful to these gracious beings who simply loved us as we were and demanded nothing from us except our pure love, bonds and affection in return.

For some, again myself included, it was these safe, secure and joyful animal-bonds and attachments, so utterly lacking in the human-realm, which laid down the templates for the capacity for more genuine relationships, trust and sense of security. And which filled the holes left painfully gaping by those people who were meant to pour love into us.

I for one am utterly grateful to the rabbits, dogs, cats and ponies who sustained me during those early, critical years, and know for sure that I wouldn’t have made it through without them and the life-raft they so generously and loving always provided for me..

©Angela Dunning
The Horse’s Truth
www.thehorsestuth.co.uk
https://buymeacoffee.com/angeladunning

Image by Smile.Artcraft licensed via Shutterstock.

02/12/2025

02/08/2025

Gorgeous courses are set, and we have everything from .70-1.30M ready to ride at The Ridge at Wellington Groves! 🐎 Prizelists at www.RidgeShowJumping.com or enter online at TheRidge.HorseSpot.net

02/08/2025

Save The Date: On Sunday, March 23rd, 2025, at 9:00 AM, Piedmont Fox Hounds will launch the 2025 Virginia Hunter Pace Series at Clifton Farm (Back Gate) in Upperville, VA.

The event will include jumping and non-jumping courses, with the jumping course featuring fences ranging from 2’3” to 3’3” in height, including coops and stone walls. The flat (non-jumping) course will have all gates open.

The courses, approximately 2.5 to 3.5 miles in length, will be well-marked and traverse open farmland, creeks, and woodlands. Prior to the event, the courses will be mapped and flagged for walking, although walking the course is not mandatory, it is highly recommended.

Teams can participate in groups of 2, 3, or 4 riders. However, to compete for championship points in the 2025 Virginia Hunter Pace Series, teams must consist of two individuals with the same rider/mount combination throughout the series.

Entries can be submitted through www.centralentryoffice.com.

Please contact Lissa Green, PFH Hunter Pace Coordinator, for further information.

02/08/2025

As a frequent visitor to The Barracks in Charlottesville, I am deeply saddened by the loss of their matriarch, Mrs. Bishop. What a legacy!

View Martha Claiborne Smith Bishop's obituary, contribute to their memorial, see their funeral service details, and more.

02/06/2025

02/05/2025

02/04/2025